New year, fresh start and an opportunity to look forward to the future with your HR all in order, legally compliant and working for you. Sam Swinstead urges all business owners to make New Year’s Resolutions when it comes to employing staff. Here are a few helpful suggestions to get you off on the right foot.
- Spend some time to plan. It is time well spent, but it is often a “luxury” that we don’t allow ourselves. It will enable you to successfully plan for business critical job roles, be strategic in recruitment decisions, identify cost savings and minimise any potential need for redundancies, short time working or lay-offs.
- Get some legal expertise. Ensure you know the relevant employment law before you make any major decisions or take actions that may have legal repercussions. Going to tribunal is costly, time consuming, and often wholly avoidable if you check the legal position properly first.
- Make 2019 the year that you review your HR policies and procedures. Has this job been on your “to do” list forever? It tends to lurk near the bottom – something you know you should do, but never quite manage. Make time now to check policies and procedures are all up to date (or ask that they be reviewed). It gives you peace of mind and ensures your staff know both their rights and their responsibilities.
- And while you are at it, review those personnel files. Do you know what has been filed away in that personnel cabinet or would you prefer not to think about it? Make it a priority to review every employee’s file, ensuring that it contains everything it should…and nothing it shouldn’t! If you’re unsure, especially in the post-GDPR world, speak to us. We’ve helped lots of businesses, like yours be complaint when it comes to staff record keeping.
- Communicate, communicate, communicate! In the uncertain times ahead, keep staff up to date and in the know where you can about how the business is doing. It will increase their trust in you, and keep their loyalty to the business.
- Commit to developing your staff. We know it’s tough to think about spending money on training when there are so many other things that the budget could be spent on. Remember that your staff are your greatest asset when they perform at their optimum, but they are your greatest cost if they don’t have the skills, knowledge or confidence to do what you need them to.
vivoHR offer a FREE HR AUDIT to any business. Call Sam on 07816 316598 or email [email protected] to arrange a review of your policies and procedures to ensure you are legally compliant, following best practice, and to explore the most effective ways to develop the people in your business.